The newsletter article comparing GIMP and Photoshop made me wonder--does GIMP have the clipping masks that Photoshop does? I use Paint.net (another free download) for cropping, editing, etc, but it doesn't have the clipping mask. I'd love to have that application.

I'm not sure if they work exactly the same way, but I use GIMP and often use a clipping mask. What GIMP lacks is the ability to use the styles. Other than that, I haven't had any trouble doing in GIMP what I've seen here.

sorry - it's styles and tools - are they the same thing? Also, re the user manual - it isn't very useful, but there are lots of tutorials online, there are even a few aimed at scrapbooking in GIMP. Maybe I'll try my hand, too.